Category Archives: Culture commentary

Is history too inconsequential for your god to judge it?

Posted on December 1, 2009 by PaulVK

I wrote this in a discussion on Calvin-in-Common responding to the article I posted from Newsweek on “We are all Hindus Now”. I think it’s interesting that as a culture we find it fashionable to offer inclusion into our concept … Continue reading →

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How we love our myth of self-determination

Posted on November 30, 2009 by PaulVK

“If you obey the Bible as an experiment it’s cool. If you obey it out of conviction you are naive and backwards.” This is what I discern our culture to be telling us. AJ Jacobs wrote a book “The Year … Continue reading →

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Of Images and Idols

Posted on October 27, 2009 by PaulVK

I went to see some of King Tut’s old stuff today in San Francisco. It was a smallish presentation of Egyptian antiquities but it was well worth the trip for me. The artifacts were well presented and how they fit … Continue reading →

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On loving the process at the expense of Sabbath rest

Posted on October 26, 2009 by PaulVK

Rachel Held Evans is a young author whose first book will be coming out next year. She has a blog and I thought this post was illuminating with respect to our culture. She talks about loving the process of constructing … Continue reading →

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Has American evangelicalism lost the image of "rest"?

Posted on October 23, 2009 by PaulVK

It’s Friday and Sunday’s coming, which means I’m doing prep work. In Revelation 14:11 there is no rest day or night for those who worshiped the beast and received the mark. This obviously is in contrast to the enormous Biblical … Continue reading →

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Why we resent

Posted on October 14, 2009 by PaulVK

I’ve got Google Reader locked onto Tim Stafford’s blog. What a nice, helpful writer. Today’s posting noted how illegal immigration despite lack of headline space continues to be an emotional issue. His friend at the newspaper noted that “People feel … Continue reading →

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The Need for Calvin College

Posted on October 12, 2009 by PaulVK

This is a posting I wrote for Calvin in Common. This conversation centered around whether Calvin has lost its way by not faithfully teaching its students the most up to date scientific positions regarding earth origins and like matters. I … Continue reading →

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On the Writing Off Of

Posted on October 2, 2009 by PaulVK

We are creatures of time and space. We must prioritize our time, energy, resources, attention. When we write things, people, institutions off we make an economic decision. “I will invest in this, but not that.” We have to do this, … Continue reading →

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Traditions are Trans-time Communities

Posted on September 15, 2009 by PaulVK

On Sept 14 Rachel Held Evans, a young author awaiting the publication of her first book from Zondervans posted “Why Calvinism Makes Me Cry” on her blog. There are a number of her comments that I’d like to respond to … Continue reading →

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Our Knowledge of God's Agency and our Free will

Posted on September 15, 2009 by PaulVK

Rachel Held Evans is a young author whose got a book coming out from Zondervans. In a blog post she talked about “why Calvinism makes her cry“. It’s an amazing piece of self-disclosure. There’s been a discussion on the subject … Continue reading →

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